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CPI(M), BJP seek inquiry

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday demanded an inquiry into allegations that the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee paid large sums of money to an obscure firm based in Britain in a less than transparent manner.

“The CWG Organising Committee is reported to have paid around Rs. 1.68 crore (£ 2,47,467) to the [Britain-based] company AM Films. It is further alleged that this company is receiving £ 25,000 every month. The British government has already pointed out various irregularities in the contract with the company,” the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said here.

Expressing shock at the large-scale misuse of funds, it demanded that the Centre “immediately order a high-level investigation into this contract and the transactions undertaken.”

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said a “judicial inquiry” must be set up immediately after the end of the Commonwealth games. “We are shocked and disappointed by the revelations by the Central Vigilance Commission,” even as media reports about the money trail to the United Kingdom have been received, she said.

The Games should have been an opportunity not only to encourage sports here but also to showcase our sporting infrastructure. Instead, the event may reveal the “scandal, sleaze and substandard work.”